I have addressed most of the issues raised by Jason ("greenie"), Deron and Mike
in private.
 
I will reiterate one point .... it is that some of the problem with the public
perception of those of us attempting to get a new medium off the ground is
that, especially the USCHO guys were active HOCKEY-L list members.
 
That perception is going to stay for those who know them all, but everyone
can't let that cloud the perception of what is now being done.  Some of us have
been in journalism in varying degrees for a while, others were never in it
before and are learning that aspect of it.  Nevertheless, we are all making a
go at making a new medium work.
 
To ask Deron or Mike to continue to post like before is unfair.  If Deron got a
job at USA Today, would anyone be asking the same thing of him?  You can no
longer expect the same posts to the lists from USCHO members than you would
from a Hockey News writer posting a rough version of his story to HOCKEY-L.
Not only shouldn't he, but I don't think the Hockey News would even let him.
 
That being said, why is it a bad thing for HOCKEY-L to shift back to a purpose
that it really is much more suited for ... and that is the DISCUSSION of these
issues.
 
Think about it -- no one on usenet newsgroups of major pro sports teams is
posting boxes and game recaps.  That info is all out there already all over the
place.  Instead, they are debating trades, players, issues, etc...
 
I'll reiterate what was said by someone earlier ... I would love for issues
that I raise on the show to be discussed.  I've had some pretty in depth and
complex feature interviews and stories on the show -- Maine coach Grant
Standbrook gave an insightful interview about his recent past -- a reporter
from Minnesota gave an interesting take on the Gopher/Woog situation.
 
Of course, maybe just no one is listening, but I know some people are.  Let
this be the fuel for discussion.  I'm just egotistical enough to think that
there are some good things worthy of being discussed.
 
Along those lines, there's some damn good college hockey writing going on at
USCHO.  I'd venture to think the large majority of people out there, including
hockey parents, love USCHO and never heard of HOCKEY-L.  As new people come to
the web, they will find USCHO on search engines, etc..., and never have heard
on HOCKEY-L.  The numbers bear this out, and so does the things I hear at the
rinks from parents, etc...
 
Let me also say, that much of the news I find out about, I still get tipped off
to from Hockey-L. I ain't gonna get it from ESPN, right?  I believe it is then
my job to flesh it out, report the facts, get in depth interviews that hit all
the angles.  I don't think there's anything wrong with that sort of symbiotic
relationship, and I like to think that fans, upon seeing the Hockey-L
discussion, would also want to turn then to us for a full report, then go back
to the discussion (speculating is something that is great fun, but cannot and
should not be done by USCHO or ATR).
 
There's no reason why ATR or USCHO should be thought of any differently than
media operations with bigger names.  America is great because of mom-and-pop,
not Walmart (for proof, go to Lake Placid  <G>).  And just because a place
named "Just Bulbs" isn't as big as Walmart, doesn't mean that "Just Bulbs"
doesn't do a damn good job of selling bulbs, maybe better than anyone else.
Well, USCHO might not be the New York Times, but it does a damn good job of
covering college hockey.
 
That was about as brief as I can be on the subject.
 
Happy New Year to all.
 
Adam Wodon - AC Productions
Host: "Around the Rinks" - The only National College Hockey talk show
Listen 24 hours/day, 7 days/week at:
http://www.audionet.com/sports/shows/rinks/
 
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